Jealousy Isn't Cute On You
by ships-and-saints
Summary: Lorcan and Elide are wandering through a large plains town, weaving in and out of taverns looking for information on the whereabouts of Aelin Galathynius. But Elide is still angry at Lorcan for what happened on the Stone Marshes, and she's been giving him the cold shoulder for weeks. What else is there to do at a tavern besides drink away your woes? [Elide x Lorcan][One-Shot]


**Request** : "jealousy isn't cute on you." for elorcan please! :)

-;-

 **A/N** : Written for the anon tumblr prompt above :) I love elorcan heh~ Please feel free to submit prompts oyasumi-wyrds on tumblr~

also, there are a couple of ACOTAR-related prompts in my inbox, I am currently working on those now as I have finished reading ACOWAR. thanks for being patient~ Leave a review/favorite if you enjoyed reading!

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"Come, wife," Lorcan Salvaterre said, in the most neutral tone he could muster. He struggled to keep the bite from his voice, the seeping irritation that threatened to poison his tone. The ruckus surrounding them gradually died down as wisps of his dark magic subconsciously permeated the air.

Elide Lochan paused, before casually flicking her impassive gaze over him.

Trying not to grit his teeth, Lorcan stared down at her as she clutched a tankard probably filled with beer that tasted like piss.

It had been weeks since Queen Maeve had whisked Aelin Galathynius away in an iron coffin. Weeks since… the Stone Marshes. And Elide had been like ice, this whole time. At first, he thought she might thaw out after a few days, but days turned into a week, and one week turned into several.

Elide had barely acknowledged or reacted to his presence, except when they were out scouting for information on the whereabouts of Aelin, where she had no trouble playing the part of a happily married wife.

Lorcan was nearing the end of his patience, and he didn't have much to begin with.

They had been wandering from tavern to tavern in this relatively large plains town, and after they reached the third tavern, Lorcan had gone to use the bathroom. And to try and clear his head.

His head pounded and beat with every stroke of irritation that crossed his mind. The faucet squeaked, and Lorcan splashed cold water on his face. Quickly checking his reflection in the mirror, he tried to look unthreatening, before facing the tavern crowd. Perhaps pleasant, even…

He settled for a look of cold neutrality.

As he stepped through the bathroom doorway, he immediately registered that Elide had moved from where she'd been sitting originally. His keen eyes scanned the room and deftly picked her out of the crowd by her raven-dark hair, neatly done up in a bun. For a moment, Lorcan entertained the notion of dragging Elide out and burning the whole, wretched place to the ground.

Instead, he stalked over to where she was perched.

She was sitting at a nearly-rotting wooden table with a bunch of worthless soldiers who took every chance they could to try and leer down her shirt. Elide just laughed demurely, exchanging witty banter and lightly smacking at their wandering hands.

"Come," Lorcan repeated, "I need to speak with you." His carefully restrained irritation had seeped into his clipped tone, and Elide's back straightened, the hairs on her neck standing straight up. The rowdy soldiers around the table hushed, as well.

One of the soldiers dared to speak. A young, human man, of average height and average build. He gripped the hilt of his sword for courage. "Hey pretty girl, is this guy giving you trouble?"

Lorcan ignored him like an ant, staring at Elide as he waited for her response.

The dark-haired woman just sat there smugly. She held up one hand to the soldier across the table who spoke, but she kept her eyes on Lorcan.

"I'm _fine_ ," she emphasized, her gaze unwavering as she delivered her next blow. "And, I'm still your _fiancée_ , the marriage isn't for another couple weeks." Elide's eyes flashed dangerously, and Lorcan's temper nearly snapped its leash then.

He forced himself to take a steadying breath. And then another one. There was no point, no point in getting angry here. Not when the confrontation was drawing so much attention; the whole tavern floor had quieted, anticipating a fight. The old bartender was innocently drying glasses, pretending not to eavesdrop.

Lorcan was reaching the end of his rope, and Elide was still sitting there, staring him down.

"Hey man, you heard the lady. She said she's fine, so back off." The same, irritating soldier who had spoken out before spoke up again, louder this time. His confidence was just a thin mask.

Lorcan's gaze finally flickered to the soldier, who at least had the good sense to look a little nervous while the most powerful demi-Fae male stared him down. Harsh lines promising cruelty were etched onto his immortal face as he stepped forward and leaned towards the soldier, who couldn't help but lean away. The rest of the soldiers at the table shuffled and muttered, slightly uneasy.

Lorcan lowered his voice to a deadly, lethal quiet. "If you want to keep your vocal cords, don't ever speak to me again. Otherwise I'll rip 'em out and feed them back to you."

In his deathless, onyx eyes, he held the promise there for the soldier to see, to feel the weight of the truth.

Elide, it seemed, had had enough. She abruptly stood up. "On second thought, I'd better talk to my future husband about conduct in public, _hmm?_ " She put her hands on her hips and glared at him. "Let's go. Now."

Without waiting for his affirmative, Elide grabbed his hand. Lorcan cringed inwardly at the contact but allowed her to lead the way through the tavern, storming between the tables and dodging drunks.

Finally, they got outside. Elide looked around and pulled him behind a corner, making sure no one was near enough to hear them.

"What in Hellas's realm has gotten into _you_?" She hissed, jabbing a finger at his chest.

He refrained from rolling his eyes. Instead, Lorcan crossed his arms. "There was no information that was worth getting out of those worthless fools."

Elide narrowed her eyes at him. "That's what you think. They were Rifthold soldiers. I was going to ask about Morath again, ask if they've heard anything suspicious regarding my uncle or Duke Perrington. Perhaps let slip information about the horrifying things that have been sighted around Oakwald Forest, these days. Since they have to protect Adarlan from all sorts of threats you know." She widened her eyes at him in mock horror.

"Anyway, I don't have time to be getting into it here with you, behind this stupid tavern." She turned her back on him to walk away. "I'm going to find my damn Queen, and you can do whatever you want."

Lorcan just stood there for a few moments as he watched Elide walk away, her long skirt swaying behind her as her hips swung.

He silently followed behind her as she stalked down the river a little ways before entering yet another tavern. Across the road, Lorcan watched her disappear through the entrance, and he debated what to do.

As spurned as he felt, Lorcan knew he couldn't leave her alone. Clever as she was, she'd be defenseless against multiple aggressors, like those preying soldiers from before. Plus, Rowan and Gavriel would _kill_ him if they found out he left the Lady of Perranth alone.

So he made up his mind to go inside and just observe. He'd just keep watch. That was all she needed anyway, a bodyguard. She had said as much before they'd met the carnival troupe. He didn't know why he expected so much from her, anyway.

Lorcan ducked his head and entered the dimly lit tavern; this one a tad nicer than the last one they had been in. And it was emptier, too. His eyebrows raised as he spotted her at the bar, swirling a glass with her hand. He didn't understand her intentions, so he hesitantly went to sit at a table wedged in a dark corner.

He said he'd observe, after all.

But some time passed, and all Elide did was keep ordering drinks at the bar. A couple fruity drinks at first, from what Lorcan could tell. Then a glass of wine. Then a shot of vodka.

And another shot.

And another.

And finally, Lorcan got up to approach her.

"Jealousy isn't cute on you," Elide slurred, tracing a finger along the wooden countertop. She looked up at Lorcan through heavy-lidded eyes, tipping over slightly on the stool. Lorcan nearly snarled an answer at her, but he sensed the bartender was watching them. He looked up to see the bartender's eyes narrowing at him suspiciously.

"This is my fiancée," Lorcan explained loudly, in a long-suffering tone. At least his voice sounded natural. The bartender shifted his gaze to Elide, who tipped her head in an approximation of a nod. He relaxed and shrugged, like he understood. _Ahh, relationship problems._

Lorcan returned his gaze to Elide, slumped over on her right arm. She pursed her lips at him in annoyance, her eyes half-shut. He tried not to think about how beautiful she was, when she wasn't being a frigid ice queen.

"Jealous? Who's jealous?" He asked in a low voice.

"You. You were jealous I was flirting with those soldiers. I saw the look on your face."

"They weren't worth your time," Lorcan growled lowly. A little knowing smile danced on Elide's rosebud lips.

"I'm flattered… you were jealous," she said, stumbling over her words a bit.

 _She's drunk_ , Lorcan thought to himself. _She won't even remember what she's saying… I'll just bring her back to the inn._

"Elide, you're drunk," he calmly stated. Even though she was seated on a high stool at the bar, he towered over her at 6'4". But it didn't matter, since she didn't even bat an eye at him anymore; he didn't intimidate her. Sure, he could kill her, but that wouldn't be any worse than what he had done to her _queen_. To Queen Aelin Galathynius of Terrasen, who was still alive and now grown.

It was the reason why Elide had started slamming drinks back at the bar, downing shots like candy.

Because gods-damned Lorcan kept hanging around her like a puppy, waiting for her to forgive him. And Elide wasn't ready, she wouldn't do it until Lorcan… No, not Lorcan, she wasn't thinking of Lorcan, she meant Aelin… Until Aelin came back, she wouldn't forgive Lorcan.

Elide sat up and opened her mouth to tell him that, but the room started spinning and she screwed her eyes shut.

All of a sudden, she was scooped up into someone's arms. Tan, muscular arms. Lorcan's.

"This is your fault," she slurred. _I'm drunk because of you_ , she added in her head. Lorcan just shook his head in bewildered amusement.

"Come on," he murmured, "Let's get you into bed." She squinted at him and… Was that… was that a glimmer of _kindness_ she saw in his eyes? She must be drunker than she thought. Her head rolled to the side, so heavy…

In what felt like no time at all, Lorcan had her tucked into the bed at the inn they were staying at. He brought her a glass of water.

"Drink," Lorcan instructed, holding the glass out to her. Groaning, Elide sat up and reached towards it. She tentatively sipped.

"Thanks," She said gratefully. Elide trained her gaze on the white scar she saw peeking from the collar of Lorcan's shirt.

He looked reproachful, like he was about to say something, so Elide opened her mouth to cut him off. "Don't. If you think me getting drunk gives you the right to give me a rutting lecture, just don't. Just leave." She bid her voice not to waver, bid her heart to hold strong. It was exhausting holding this much anger and resentment in her heart, but she couldn't seem to let it go.

Lorcan's onyx eyes were unfathomable, his hands clenched at his sides. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry about what I did, about getting your queen captured. I'll keep saying it, if you need me to. Just don't- don't look at me that way anymore."

Elide closed her eyes and sighed. She was still drunk, her mind was still hazy, so she held out her hand to him and he grasped it. Lorcan slowly sat on the edge of the bed.

"I'm so tired… So tired of being angry, Lorcan… I wish you hadn't done what you did," Elide mumbled tiredly, her head rolling to the side. "I wish I knew how to get her back…"

Lorcan's gravelly voice was surprisingly gentle. "I know… I'm sorry. I'll keep saying it if you need me to, and I'll do anything to make it up to you."

Elide perked up slightly at that. "Anything?"

He hesitated. "Well… within reason, of course. I want to make it up to you. I meant to protect you before, but I fucked it up, and I know that."

Elide's dark eyes opened and found his, searching his eyes for the answer before she asked her question. "Why did you want to protect me?"

"I promised I would." His tone was evasive, and Elide's eyes fluttered shut again, as if she were too exhausted to hold her eyelids open.

"Okay," she said simply. "We'll figure it out… This all out… Right?"

Lorcan tried to let down his guard, recognizing that Elide was giving him a chance, a chance to make it up to her… So he squeezed her hand and nodded, before remembering that Elide had closed her eyes again. He licked his lips to wet them. "Yes. We'll figure it out… together."

"Together," Elide murmured, right before she slipped into the dark folds of sleep.


End file.
